Monthly Archives: March 2012

The fascination and aspirations with all things Porsche seems to affect each person differently. Some recount an event in their childhood that created a vivid memory involving a Porsche, while others developed their appreciation for the brand later in life. In my case, it was seeing my first Porsche 911 back in 1966 at the age of 11. However for my friend Gene, it was dreams and aspirations of Porsche ownership that were developed over time, and fortunately one dream that recently became a reality…

I first met Gene back in 2008, when I began attending the weekly automotive gathering in Irvine California known as Cars&Coffee. By virtue of the parking space I selected that first morning, I found myself in proximity to a red Porsche speedster and a dark green metallic Isuzu Vehicross. Within several events, formal introductions were made and I got to know the owners of the two cars; Jeff, the owner of the red speedster, and Gene, the owner of the Vehicross. And within a couple more weeks, a fourth member joined our newly assembled group; Dave and his slate gray, 1984 Porsche 930 Turbo. Since those initial meetings, the four of us have become good friends, and can usually be found parked as a group at each weeks event. Over time, we learned of Gene’s dream to one day own a Porsche 911. But his dream didn’t stop there; within the past 6 months, his focus shifted to mid to late 1980’s vintage 930 turbos. And as far as color was concerned, India Red quickly rose to the top of his list. And what better place than Cars&Coffee, to check out the weeks assortment of Porsche turbos, in a variety of colors, model years and options.

And so the search began. Gene would share his latest leads each week, and ask for our collective opinions on his latest finds. We watched him experience the frustrations we had all experienced firsthand; of locating a car only to learn that it had just been sold. And then there were the dry spells, where no new 930 Turbos were to be found. Gene then expanded his search to beyond California, where he soon found several more Porsche 930 turbos of interest. However, it was a one owner, very low mileage (25K), black on black 1987 Porsche 930 Turbo located up in Washington State that got his full attention. After multiple conversations with the owner and some negotiating, a purchase strategy was put in place contingent upon the outcome of a PPI (pre-purchase inspection). Gene had arranged for the PPI to be performed by a local Porsche mechanic up in Washington State. Upon completion, the mechanic’s report would be sent to Gene for review. Fortunately the car had been very well maintained and cared for, so it passed the inspection with flying colors. The negotiations with the owner were finalized, and back in early February, I received an email one evening from Gene, sharing with me that he was now the owner of the black on black, 1987 Porsche 930 turbo. His next challenge would be to arrange for the shipping of his new purchase down to Southern California.

After researching the options available for transport companies who offer enclosed trailers with lift gates and GPS tracking, he made several calls to different firms requesting a quote. After comparing numbers, he decided to get on the waiting list with one of the high-profile vehicle transport companies. Unfortunately, after waiting for 2 weeks, he received notification from the company that they would be unable to accommodate his request for vehicle transport. By now, it was the end of February and Gene was still without his car. So he contacted another of the major automotive transport firms (Passport Transport), and luck was on his side. They had a truck that was scheduled to make a run up to the Seattle area, and yes, they would in fact be able to transport his car. Four days later, he received confirmation, along with several photos of his car being loaded onto their transport, and prepared for its journey to Southern California. And on March 11, the transporter pulled up to Gene’s home, to deliver his long-awaited Porsche 930 Turbo.

Now came the challenge of out-of-state vehicle registration and the nefarious California smog test. But first there was the matter of correcting the one single item from the PPI list; the replacement of the motors catalytic converter. Wanting to use only factory replacement parts, Gene went on a search only to learn that the local stock of factory 930 turbo catalytic converters was entirely depleted. Fortunately within Southern California, there is a wealth of Porsche resources only a phone call away. After following up on a couple leads, he contacted Hergesheimer Motorsports. After explaining his situation, Gene was told that they could get him the new factory part within a week, and then install it so he could continue with his registration process. After the cat was installed, it was time for the smog test. Once again, good fortune was on Gene’s side, and the car passed without a hitch. So armed with his smog certificate and car sales documentation, it was off to the DMV to finally register his car, and get his new California plates.

Cars& Coffee / Irvine on Saturday morning, March 24 witnessed the formal debut of Gene’s new Porsche 930 turbo. And what an amazing and beautiful car it is; even more impressive considering it’s 25 years old. The following photos are just a few of the images taken that morning…

And throughout the process of realizing his dream of Porsche ownership, Gene was able to share the experience with his son Ryan. And that’s what the car hobby and the Porsche community is all about; the shared passion for the automobile regardless of your vehicular preferences. And as witnessed from the first portrait taken of Gene, Ryan and their new Porsche (seen below), with each displaying broad smiles, it just shows that it’s hard to beat a pristine black 930 Turbo. So guys, welcome to the Porsche Family…

While still under the cover of darkness, I made my way south on the 5 freeway towards Cars&Coffee / Irvine on Saturday morning March 3. As I neared Irvine, I noticed in my rear view mirror a pair of headlights closing quickly. And in a matter of seconds, a low slung, black Ford GT with white stripes and large white meatball with a black number 2 centered on its door was right next to me. As we continued south, the driver accelerated and pulled ahead by about 3 car lengths. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a California Highway Patrol cruiser with yellow lights flashing passed me and took up a position right behind the black Ford GT. And instead of pulling over, the Ford GT continued southbound with the CHP right on its bumper. While watching this event unfold in front of me, I heard a loud rumble, and looked over to see a bright yellow Ford GT pull up beside me, also watching the events ahead. We continued south, running side by side, and watching the CHP and Black Ford GT running nose to tail for about a mile. And then the strangest thing happened. The CHP cruiser pulled out, passing the black Ford GT, and sped away with its lights still flashing ( guess it was the Ford GT owners lucky day). The yellow Ford GT then picked up his pace, and with a single upshift, spit a pair of blue fireballs out of it dual exhaust, and began accelerating away from me. But I had already dropped down a gear, and accelerated to match his pace. I tucked in behind him and we ran like this all the way to the freeway off-ramp, where I was once again treated to a light show of blue colored fireballs erupting from the exhaust with each downshift. By the time we arrived at the parking lot entrance to Cars&Coffee, I immediately knew what the featured make of car would be for the day. Both the black and yellow Ford GT’s were soon waived into the reserved parking lot, to join the cars already on display. After finding a parking space, and having consumed my breakfast, with camera in hand, it was time to head out and see what amazing cars Saturday morning had in store…

Walking through the Ford display area, I encountered the Black Ford GT with white stripes and racing number that I had watched being stalked on the freeway earlier that morning by the CHP…

The yellow fender showing in this image above, belongs to the fire-ball spitting GT 40 that I shadowed on my way to the show that morning…

Intermingled with the Ford GT’s were other Ford powered vehicles, ranging from Shelby Cobras, Sunbeam Tigers and an assortment of Pantera’s.

One of the standouts from the Shelby Cobra’s gathered that morning was this Guardsman Blue, 1966 427 Shelby Cobra seen below. What made this car even more unique, was the role it played in the 1976 movie “The Gumball Rally”. For those of you that remember the film, yes, this is the actual Guardsman Blue, 427 Shelby Cobra featured throughout the movie.

The current owner had even included a biography on the car as shown above, highlighting its history and involvement in “The Gumball Rally”…

Even the Cobra’s license plate was a clue to this cars identity for those in the know. Now all that was missing was a red Ferrari 365 Daytona Spyder and “Franco”…

For the second weekend in a row, Southern California was once again blessed with summer like weather, complete with warm breezes and sunny, cloudless crystal blue skies. This past Saturday was another stunning example, and what better time to undertake another study of reflections, and explore the contrast of shadow and light and their collective impact on the automotive form.

After shooting the Ferrari Daytona coupe seen above, I ran into a friend who asked if I had seen the Ferrari Enzo and Bugatti Veyron parked by the catering tables. I told him no, and then asked if the Bugatti was the blue-tinted carbon fiber model that had been at the event 2 weeks earlier. He said no, that this one was a two-tone, red on black, and that the Enzo parked just in front was a blood orange color. So off I went in search of these two cars, which can be seen below. I was definitely surprised to see each car displaying a KONY 2012 placard, an apparent effort by each owner to draw attention to the atrocities committed by African warlord Joseph Kony, against the children of his country…

I then noticed that another crowd was gathered towards the middle of the parking lot and decided to find out what was drawings the crowd. There parked at the end of the row, was a spectacular looking hot rod, and then it hit me. This was a Chip Foose creation, and walking towards the back confirmed it. This was the Foose HemiSFear…

And with the rear deck opened, even the valve covers confirmed that this was in fact the HemiSFear.

My next stop was on Mercedes row, to check out a beautifully restored Triumph motorcycle parked next to an amazing black Mercedes-Benz 190 SL roadster, both the source of some amazing shadows and reflections…

And now an update on my two latest Porsche GT3 RS4.0 sightings…

On Saturday March 3, I added another GT3 RS4.0 sighting (#7) to my list of cars encountered since October 2011 at Porsches Rennsport Reunion IV. This car was another example of the white exterior with the RS4.0 exterior graphics package, with the white wheel configuration.

After talking with the owner, I learned that he’s had the car for only three months, but from the smile on his face it was obvious he thoroughly enjoys ownership. It was then time to ask him my standard GT3 RS4.0 question – What series number is your car out of the total 600 built? Fortunately, every RS4.0 owner faced with my question has been gracious enough to share their cars series number. And keeping the trend alive, this owner shared with me that his car was #490 out of 600.

Sighting #8, and my second sighting for March, occurred this past Saturday, and was once again at Cars&Coffee /Irvine. This particular car appeared to be brand new; also white and wearing the traditional RS4.0 exterior graphics package, but in this case its wheels were black.

Realizing that this was a brand new car, and not one that I had seen before, I immediately looked around for the owner in hopes of asking him about his car, and adding its series number to my GT3 RS4.0 sighting list. No owner was to be found, so I circled that car a few more times, adding more images to my collection and studying the various reflective surfaces found on the car.

I returned to the car a little later and was lucky enough to catch the owner, just as he was getting ready to leave. I quickly introduced myself, and explained my interest in the Porsche GT3 RS4.0, along with my quest to document each of my RS4.0 sightings since seeing my first at Porsches Rennsport Reunion IV. I learned that the owner had also attended Rennsport Reunion IV, and had even participated in the weekends racing. It was then time for me to ask my question, and this owner kept the tradition alive by sharing with me that his car was series #491. I then shared with him that I had encountered another white GT3 RS4.0 one week earlier, which was series # 490. We both agreed on the rarity of finding two cars with sequential series numbers, from such a limited worldwide production.

Once a year, the “Porsche literature, toy/model and memorabilia meet for Porsche and Vintage VW’s” comes to town, and is followed up by the all Porsche Swap and Car display on Sunday, held at the Phoenix Club located in Anaheim, California.

Last weekends weather could not have been better suited for a Porsche swap meet and car display. Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny, with a cloudless blue sky and summer like temperatures. And the Porsche community showed up in droves…

By the time I arrived at the Phoenix Club (at 7:30 AM), I was greeted by one very long, single file line of Porsches, queued up nose to tail, awaiting entry into the event to be part of the car display. So I tucked in line, to wait with the rest of the assembled masses. As soon as the gate opened, we were routed through the aisles of the already active swap meet, with our final destination being the grassy field at the back, selected for the days display parking.

The welcome committee (above and below), parked along the swap meet aisles, greeted those driving into the event…

Various car clubs and their members (the 356 Registry, Early S Registry, POC, and the RGruppe just to name a few), had been granted priority parking, and were already staged about the grounds. (I found out later that they had all arrived at 6 AM for positioning). Once parked on the lawn, and after a quick scan of the surrounding cars, it was time to grab my camera and head off to check out the undiscovered Porsches.

Centrally located on the site, was the huge green tent (“Festhalle”), which housed a large collection of vendors, all hawking Porsche related products and services. And strategically placed around the perimeter of the tent, were the different cars clubs, each displaying a variety of Porsches; from 356’s to 911’s, 912’s, one Brumos Porsche 935 (courtesy of Pelican Parts), and even a Porsche Junior tractor…

In addition to the Brumos Porsche 935, there were several other Porsche race cars present; the Wynn’s Porsche 962, and the red Coca-Cola Porsche 935…

And just around the corner from these two cars was another hidden gem; the historically significant, blue 1964 Porsche 904 GTS Carrera, serial number 904-002. For those unfamiliar with this particular car, this is one of only two pre- production prototypes built, and that served as the personal car of its designer Ferdinand Alexander (Butzi) Porsche…

After shooting the 904, it was time for a closer look at some of the remaining cars staged throughout the grassy display area…

And hidden out in the back corner of the field was this rasberry colored 1973 Carrera RS…

After making the rounds through the car display area, it was time for one last pass around the Festhalle tent, in case I missed any cars…

And with one last Carrera RS sighting, it was time to head home.

Note to self: the next time you come across a 1/43 scale GT3 RS4.0 model, don’t delay in deciding whether or not to buy it…